


Fellowship Coffee Company

by disorderly_redhead



Category: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Coffeeshop AU, Hate to Love, M/M, Modern AU, POV Third Person, Slow Burn, hopefully not ooc just trying to ....have fun with this, no one dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-22 23:16:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13177272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disorderly_redhead/pseuds/disorderly_redhead
Summary: Gandalf runs a coffeeshop and tells Aragorn he's considered letting Boromir go since he's not particularly invested in the job. Aragorn offers to spend a week retraining his coworker to see if it helps, but will Boromir let him help him?





	Fellowship Coffee Company

**Chapter One - Fellowship Coffee Company**

 

"Absolutely unfair that Sam and Frodo get to go on vacation," said Merry, neglecting to clean the steaming wand as he finished making a cappuccino for himself. 

"Don't be daft," said Pippin. "Its a business trip. Thy'll be stuck helping Gandalf the whole time." 

"You're the only one he doesn't like, you know," responded Merry.

"I had a job interview at Minas Tirith Pizzaria, I don't need this job."

It was three thirty, dead, and the perfect time for the two undergrads to be prepping the flavoured hummus or doing a load of heavy ceramic mugs, but asB long their manager Aragorn was in the back doing 'manager's business' as Sam called it, Merry and Pippin wouldn't start any chore in the cafe. 

Merry snorted. "Aragorn used to work there. Everyone knows the owner is a dick."

"That's different," said Pippin, but he fell quiet. For a long moment they remained lounging, ignoring the regular tucked in a booth, who in turn ignored them, until Aragorn re-emerged. 

He looked at them, and neither moved. Aragorn checked the bins full of unwashed mugs, the fridge of unprepped hummus, and looked over the empty cafe. 

"Why don't you both check the task list," Aragorn suggested, "and see if there's anything you can catch up on."

Both Merry and Pippin scrambled to make themselves useful under their manager's watchful eye. 

 

**~*~**

 

 

Legolas sat smoking behind the building. He was the sort of rich kid who didn't need coffee shop wages, and his father, of course, disapproved entirely of his bohemian lifestyle.

"I'm just not the sort who enjoys dinner parties," he told Gimli airily, as if it were a common problem.

His coworker grunted and nodded. Gimli was short, with a huge red beard, and constantly complaining about the lack of women in the cafe. "Perhaps if I could anonymously report unbalanced hiring statistics," he muttered. "Aragorn has never hired a woman here."

"It's because he's gay," Legolas responded. 

"Shut up," retorted Gimli. "You don't know that."

"I don't," he admitted, "but I knew you weren't listening to my story. Besides, your bead probably scares off girls from applying." 

Gimli returned to grumbling. 

"It's not even your lunch break," said Legolas. "What are you doing out here?" 

"Boromir said I could go, as rush is over."

Boromir was the other manager at Fellowship, and he didn't have half the worries Aragorn did. If he had the first shift, everyone coming in at four knew the dish bins would be full and the ruins of morning rush left behind. If he led closing, one could be certain that the floors hadn't been swept and any sandwich order would be delayed for as long as it took to find and cut the necessary vegetables he hadn't prepared last night.

However, despite constantly contradicting Aragorn, he had no issue with any of his other coworkers, and who really wanted pressured into doing dishes or dragging a rag across forty seven greasy tabletops? No one denied he was fun, save Aragorn, who as his superior at work was always being scolded by Gandalf for not keeping Boromir in line. 

This particular day, Aragorn was set to address that. An hour early to his shift, he walked into the shop preparing to lay down the law. 

"Boromir," he said, "I need to talk to you." 

"What," Boromir responded, not looking up from where he doodled on an order sheet. 

"In my office, please," Aragorn specified. 

That caught his attention, and Boromir was quick to shoot back a cold, " _Your_ office?"

"You know what I mean-" Aragorn began in his defense, then stopped. "Just come to the back. Who's supposed to be up here?" 

Without waiting for a response, he ducked behind the counter and scanned the schedule. "Someone's on lunch right now," he read, "Where's the third person? Did Legolas or Gimli not show?"

"They're both on lunch," Boromir responded. "I didn't need them, so I said it was fine." 

Aragorn turned and gave Boromir a look. "Well, now we need them." 

Once that situation was settled and the cafe was sufficiently staffed, the two mangers faced each other in the small back office.

"Your office is looking nice," Boromir said. "Have you been redecorating since acquiring it?"

"The office. Gandalf's office. The office all of us, even Pippin, are frequently in," Aragorn said, patience running thin. "This isn't even the point. This isn't what I came here to talk about. Boromir, I am your superior in this work environment."

"Yeah," Boromir interrupted. "And it's insane, I've worked here way longer than you have." 

"That's exactly what I'm trying to talk to you about. Gandalf is unhappy with how you're doing things."

"Then stop gossiping about me to make yourself look better?" Boromir suggested.

"Everyone knows," Aragorn responded. He didn't like to think he was an irrational man, one who got angry quickly, but something about Boromir always set him off. "Even Frodo, who never complains of anything, notices when you leave your tasks undone."

"Ask Merry and Pippin how they feel about the way I run things," Boromir said. 

"Or I could ask the customers, who are constantly told we don't have half the items on our menu because no one is prepping them." 

That should have been the final word, but Boromir replied quickly, "I didn't make the menu."

 

"They're arguing back there," said Legolas, as he pulled a shot.

"I can't hear anything," said Gimli, "and I'm not eager to, I hear enough of their arguing already."

 

Back in the office, Aragorn paused for a moment, composing himself. "I am trying to help you keep your job," he finally managed. "Gandalf told me he'd considered firing you-" that information surprised Boromir, and Aragorn saw the shift in his expression, "But I told him not to. I offered to spend a week retraining you and see if that helps with your performance here. This will only work if you let me help you, though. You have to work with me."

Boromir was silent, and when he finally spoke his words were passed through a filter of stiff politeness. "Thank you for making me aware of this," he said. 

"Will you work with me?" Aragorn pressed gently, and after a stiff pause Boromir nodded. 


End file.
